Construction of walls of buildings.



JOHN N. WOLFE, or LANOASTER, OH10.

GO NSTRUCTI- ON QF WALLS OF BUILDINGS n'e. ceases.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 27, 1906.

Application filed August 22,1905. Serial No. 275,299.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN-N. WOLFE, a

- citizen of the United States, residing at Lanand whic will eifectuall resist the action of the several bricks or blocks comprising the provide said bricks part of this specification,

the elements for an inde iite period.

A further object of the invention is to' form wall with mortar-receiving pockets and to with vertically-disposed air flues or chambers, so as to permit the free circulation of air through the wall.

A still further object is to reinforce and strengthen the wall by a plurality of vertical brace rods or bars preferably embedded in the cement, mortar, or other binding mate'-;

ing s aced longitudinal ribs or projections 1 1,

rial during the formation of the wall.

With these and other objects in view the invention consists in the construction and novel combination and arran ement of parts hereinafter fully described, il ustrated in the accompanying drawings, and pointed out in the claims hereto ap ended, it being understood that various 0 anges' in form, proportions, and minor details of construction may be resorted to without departing from the principle orv sacrificing any of the advanta es of the invention.

n the accompanying drawings, forming a Figure 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of a ortion of a wall constructed in. accordance with my invention.

Fig. 2 is a transverse sectional view of the same. Fig. 3 is a perspective view of one of the buildin bricks or blocks, and Fig. 4 is a longitudina sectional view showing a different manner of positioning the vertical brace rods or bars.

Similar numerals of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures of the drawin s.

lhe improved wall is constructed of a plu rality of bricks or blocks 5, preferably rectangular in shape, as shown, and molded or otherwise formed of cement, concrete, terracotta, or other suitable material. The bricks 'or blocks 5 are formed with longitudinallythe brace rods or bars may disposed mortar-receiving pockets or recesses 6, which pierce the upper and'lower faces of the blocks and communicate with the pink. ets of adjacent blocks when said blocks are laid into a wall, so that after several courses of the wall have been constructed the ock-' ets or recesses in the bricks of the ower courses may be filled with cement or other suitable material 7 by pouring the latter while in a liquid state into the recesses of the upper layer of bricks, as best shown in Fi 1, thereby forming a. practically solid wafi in which the individual bricks are securely locked against both lateral and longitudinal movement. Formed in the body of each brick, near the rear wall thereof, is second longitudinal recess, preferably arranged parallel with the recess 6 and divided by a transverse connecting rib or web 8 into two chambers or compartments .9, which form vertical fines and ermit the free circulation of air through the inner face of the wall. The opposite ends of the bricks or blocksare provided with terminal mortar-receiving recesses 10, definwhic may be cut, ground, or otherwise artially or wholly severed from the body of the block in constructing the wall to permit said blocks to occupy their proper positions in each course.

The wall is reinforced and strengthened by means of vertically-disposed brace rods or bars 12, preferably embedded in the soft cement during the formation of the wall and arranged in spaced staggered relation with the upper end of one rod overlapping the I lower end of the adjacent rod, ass own.

desired, however, angle-bars 13 may be employed for this purpose, and in some cases be entirely dispensed with, the mortar within the pockets or recesses b ein deemed sufficient to strengthen the Wall and prevent accidental displacement of the bricks.

In constructing the wall the bricks or blocks are laid in superposed courses, with the bricks of the several courses arranged to break joint, as shown. After several courses have been built the cement, concrete, or other suitable binding material is poured into the recesses or pockets of the bricks of the upper layer or course, and while the ocment is still in a plaster condition the brace rods or bars are placed in said pockets, the

cement filling the pockets of the several bricks and forming a practically-solid Waterproof-- wall capable of supporting an enormous Weight.

In Fig. 4 of the drawings there is illustrated a modified form of the invention, in which the brace rods or bars 13 extend the entire height of.the Wall and are provided with terminal threads for the reception of nuts 14-,whereby the rods may be attached to the roof or other portion of the building.

If desired, the several bricks or blocks may have their exposed faces molded or otherwise formed in imitation of cut or chipped rock or other ornamental designs in order to give an attractive appearance to the wall, and said blocks instead of being rectangular in form may be curved or of any other desired configuration.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is A building-block comprising a substantially-rectangular body portion having smooth uninterrupted front and rear walls of a height approximately equal to one-half the width of the block and solid end walls provided with spaced longitudinal projections of the same width as the front and rear walls and extendin laterally beyond the end Walls and having t eir inner faces curved toward said end Walls to form terminal transverse recesses, said body portion being provided with a longitudinal mortar-receiving recess of approximately one-half the Width of the block and having a plurality of spaced vertical air-flues formed therein and disposed adjacent one longitudinal edge of the block, the walls of the recesses and air-flues being imperforate and inclined toward the bottom of the block to present smooth unobstructed surfaces extending throughout the entire hei ht of said block.

n testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto affixed my signature in the presence of two Witnesses.

I JOHN N. WOLFE. Witnesses:

LOUISA C. DAvrDsoN, C. D. MARTIN. v 

